After almost three decades, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1 Project is now on track, with a 45.82 percent overall progress rate, and “all moving forward,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade announced Wednesday night, May 26.
“This is very historical project because there were four attempts to build it since 1993 and only now did we have the actual construction for the first time," he explained during the PNR Clark Phase 1 Project site inspection.
Previous administrations tried to start the project but failed, Tugade stressed. "It's all talks of ground breaking, no construction work. Now, we're really building and the trains will be delivered soon."
Phase 1 is a 38-kilometer railway connecting Tutuban Station in Manila to Malolos in Bulacan, part of PNR North which forms the P319.5 Billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project.
The NSCR System consists of PNR Clark Phase 1, the 53-km. PNR Clark Phase 2 from Malolos to Clark, and the 56-km. PNR Calamba segments from Solis to Calamba.
It spans 147-km., afully-elevated, dual-track, electrified, and high capacity commuter railway, with 37 Stations, and a fleet of 58 eight-car Train Sets, or a total of 464 Train Cars. It will connect 26 Local Government Units in all.
The PNR Clark project took the place of the defunct Northrail project, which the government abandoned after reaching an out-of-court settlement with its Chinese contractor after many years of arbitration proceedings.
PNR North will cut across the cities of Manila, Caloocan, Valenzuela and the municipalities of Meycuayan, Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Guiguinto and Malolos in Bulacan.
Once completed, the project will serve 330,000 passengers daily and will reduce travel time from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban from an hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes.
Tugade personally inspected the site to prove that the project is continuing and is moving forward.
The project’s training simulator will be arriving between September and October, while the trains will arrive in December, he announced.
Phase 1 employed 7,500 workers during construction, while 2,000 additional jobs will be made available once the project becomes operational, according to the DOTr Secretary.
At least 200 former overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are currently employed in the project, while more jobs to be opened, prioritizing more OFWs, and displaced Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) drivers and conductors.
This first phase will be partially operational in the fourth quarter of this year and fully operational by 2nd quarter of 2024.
This year, the government is spending P38.6 BIllion on the NSCR project and expects to spend P128.8 Billion in 2022.
By 2023, the government has allocated P101Billion for the project; P31.135 Billion, in 2024 and P19.76 Billion, in 2025.
The NSCR System will link with existing railway lines LRT-1, LRT-2, MRT-3 and the Metro Manila Subway.
Overall, it will serve some 700,000 passengers per day once it is fully operational,connecting Clark Airport to Buendia in 55 minutes, and Clark Airport to Calamba in 1 hour and 40 minutes.